Software based product configuration and sales systems provide sellers an automated tool to assist in the configuration of custom products from a large set of components, options and features that are available for the customizable products. Product configuration tools typically utilize product data constructed from a hierarchical set of product-option-attributes listings as well as a set of configuration rules that define how products may be customized. The configuration rules typically constrain a set of available product options given selected options already specified in defining a product.
The product data utilized in these product configuration and sales systems typically contain all products and all related options available for use when products are defined. This product data and related software may be provided to a large number of product sellers for use in their respective sales efforts. Since not all sellers offer all available products, products with all available options and option attributes, the product configuration systems may suffer performance penalties associated with use of these tools as large amounts of product data are used when only a smaller subset is of interest to a seller at any given point in time.
The product data and related configuration rules are typically specified in a specific and typically complicated format that is needed to permit specification of products having a plurality of product options, each of which may have a set of individual product option attributes. All of this product data must also be specified in terms of the associated configuration rules used to limit configuration choices as desired. This complicated product data and configuration rule specification and modification process typically prevents easy and quick modification of product data for use as sales offerings vary over time. Additional, the complicated product data and configuration rule specification and modification process typically requires a highly trained operator possessing an understanding of the complicated product data and configuration rules as well as their interaction to modify product data. Thus the development of complicated product data and corresponding configuration rules may be an expensive and time consuming process that does not lend itself to rapid modifications needed to support a rapidly changing sales environment that may be customized for individual sellers, individual customers and particular sales time periods.